All entry fees must be paid by Friday, April 28th 6pm. Entry fee includes all meals, awards, and goodie bags. Souvenir shirts and caps can be purchased.

Registration will take place at Stingaree’s Down Under at 6:00 pm Friday April 28, prior to the Calcutta, but is not required.

Fishing Rules All anglers must have a valid Texas Fishing License and Saltwater Stamp. All Texas Parks and Wildlife rules must be observed. Boats may leave the dock 6:00 am on April 29th. Natural or artificial bait may be used.

3 Trout (limit of one trout over 25” per team), 2 slot redfish and 1 flounder will we weighed per team. Winners will be determined by total weight of the catch (maximum of 6 fish). Ties will be broken by check-in times.

Winners may be subject to polygraph. Cash prizes may not be awarded until authenticity is determined.

Tournament boundaries are the surf from High Island @ HWY 124 West to San Luis and

Galveston bay complex. Entries can begin from their preferred launch or beach access.

Tournament will begin at daylight April 29th.

Weighing Official weigh in will take place from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm at Stingaree’s Restaurant & Marina and will be administered by the Lions Club. NO EXCEPTIONS!

Prizes and Payouts

Heaviest Stringer: 3 Speckled Trout, 2 Redfish, 1 Flounder

1st place – $2000.

2nd place – $1000.

3rd place – $500

Kids Hardhead Haul-in 12yrs old and under presented by Holtzclaw Memorial Foundation.

Heaviest Hardhead wins a $500.00 scholarship

Kids can start fishing at 8:00am. Weigh-in will be between 9:00am-10:00am. Awards

ceremony for kids will be @10:30am. Hot dogs and drinks will be served.

There is going to be a benefit for a wonderful lady who is very special to Texas Marnie, Sharon Dial.

She is the wife to one of our current employees, John Dial. She has been diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer and it has spread to her brain and lungs. We need your help in raising funds for her immediate treatment. On Saturday, May 6that 11 a.m. till it’s over there is a benefit being given to assist her with this need. It will be held at the VFW Post 4709, 1303 West Semands, Conroe, Tx 77301. The phone number there is 936-756-7614. The phone number to receive more information on this benefit is

936-520-1113 for Brandi Skipwith.

Please come by and get eat with us. There will be pulled pork sandwiches, sandwich plates with all the trimmings, live auction, lottery board, 50/50 drawing, cake walk and a party wagon. There has been awww.gofundme.com/sharon-dial-cancer-treatmentaccount set up if you would like to donate.

Texas Marine is out at the State Fair in full force March 30th-April 9th. Come by and visit us there. Bay Boats, Pleasure Boats, Pontoon Boats, Jet Boats- there will be plenty of boats on display for viewing! We are celebrating over 30 years of helping friends and family enjoy the boating and outdoors lifestyle. There will be factory reps on hand to answer all your questions.

Tournament will be held in Trinity and Galveston Bay complex. This is a TEAM Tournament. with 3 man teams. They will go out with professional fishing guides. Team stringers will consist of no more than 5 fish, speckled trout only. The Calcutta winners will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place teams with tournament prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place Winners.

Do you believe?

Commercial fisherman Delino Comeaux says he was out checking his crab traps on the foggy morning of February 10 when he witnessed what appeared to be a hairy, upright-standing figure near the water’s edge of Elmgrove Point.

“I had just got done pulling my last trap into the boat, and I spotted some movement out of the corner of my eye. At first glance, it looked like a big hog, but then it stood up on two legs.” Comeaux says at that point the creature retreated back into the overgrown vegetation of the island.

Late last year, a photographer from Galveston, who wishes to remain anonymous, reported seeing a similar being near the Point Bolivar Lighthouse. “I came to capture some of Bolivar’s beauty at dusk and saw what I thought to be a large, ape-like animal through the lens of my camera. When I looked with my naked eye, it was gone. Just like that!”

Sightings of Sasquatch, as he is known in the South, are a fairly common occurrence, though there have never been reports of the unproven creature being seen on the Bolivar Peninsula until now, according to the Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy.

Resident believers have theorized that the misunderstood monster may have been seeking warmer climates due to global cooling and receding ocean levels, and found himself in the vicinity of the timbered area of Anahuac during the time of Hurricane Ike in 2008. Following the storm, he was most likely caught on a raft of pine trees that became lodged on Goat Island, and as a result has been living there ever since. It is also purported that the primate survives on crabs, oysters, and shrimp. Assumedly, he may be a pescetarian.

But after years in hiding, Bigfoot is ready to embrace the boundless experiences Bolivar Peninsula has to offer. From Spring Break to Labor Day, and every weekend in between, catch him enjoying the sights, sounds, and local events that make Crystal Beach so unique. Photo ops will be available every Saturday through the summer at the Big Store. Follow their Facebook page @TheBigStore for more details.

Smear yogurt on each side of your Flounder. Season cornmeal with Tony Chachere seasoning to your taste. Dredge the Flounder through the cornmeal on both sides. Heat oil in a skillet and fry about 3-4 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towel.

Mango Salsa:

Chop in squares 1 Mango

Chop in squares 1 Avocado

Add Cilantro to taste (about 1 Tbsp.)

Add 1 Tbsp. Lime juice

Chop 1 Tbsp. Purple Onion in small pieces

Chop in tiny pieces 1/2 jalapeno without seeds or insides.

Mix in bowl thoroughly and place Salsa on top of Fried Flounder.

Serve with Mango Salsa on top and enjoy the crispy rich flavor perfectly blended for an mouth-watering taste! This Fried Flounder with Mango Avocado Salsa will quickly become one of your favorite recipes.

Those of you in snowy states are probably cheering the recent temperature increases as much as I am. I don’t know about you, but I am definitely ready to go boating again. But what about your customers who bought their first boat this past year? Are they ready?

One of the most intimidating aspects of boat ownership is the maintenance, especially for new boaters, and the cost of maintenance is the number one reason boaters give up the recreation.

As the temperatures are finally starting to warm up in the seasonal regions, those new boaters are getting as anxious as we are to get on the water again. They followed all of the necessary steps to winterize their boat, but that was some time ago. What needs to be done to get the boat ready for spring?

Dealers should be active in working with customers to make sure they are comfortable performing the necessary maintenance, not only to keep those boaters in the sport but also to further establish loyalty to the dealership.

Send an email reminder to customers to get their boats ready for spring, but make it a little more special. Add a checklist that helps them remember all the little things they may forget when prepping their boats.

Discover Boating created an easy-to-print checklist for spring start-up that you can provide your customers, which asks customers to refer to their owner’s manual for any manufacturer-specific recommendations. What if they didn’t have to dig through their manual? Your customers would be wowed if you provided tips for prepping their specific brands for spring. And of course, be sure to extend an offer to visit your service department if they have any questions.

The time invested in building trust is never time wasted. This personal reminder demonstrates to the customer just how much you value their safety and want their boating experience to be hassle-free. When they need service done on their boat and want to give the job to someone they know will take care of them, no one else but you will come to mind. And if you don’t have time to provide excellent service to your customers, what do you have time for?

To cook your “Duck Gumbo” in a very large pot make a roux using the flour and oil over a medium heat. Stir this rough with wooden spoon constantly taking care not to let it burn. Make sure roux is a medium brown consistency, almost like peanut butter. Once your roux is ready (usually takes about 15 minutes), add onions (white and green), bell pepper, bay leaves and celery while stirring for around 5 minutes, until everything is tender. Then add the duck you have already boiled and stir. Then add the broth you reserved from boiling the duck (apprx. 6 cups) and add the water. Stir and then add the other seasonings. Cook on a low heat for 3 hours. At this point cut the sausage into small bite size pieces and add to the gumbo mixture. Cook this all for another hour. Spoon off any excess grease. Serve your gumbo hot over rice with a big batch of potato salad and you will be in gumbo heaven!

When looking for “Places to Fish in a Bay,” there are several things to consider. You really need to look at the topography using a GPS or Fishfinder. When you do you will notice several types of terrain to choose from such as reefs, hills or humps, channels or holes, shallows or shoals and convergence zones.

Reefs offer great fishing and consist of any sold structure, natural or manmade. Look for oyster beds, rock outcrops, wrecks, bridges or jetties. When you are fishing these structures consider:

Habits of the fish you are trying to catch. Predatory fish circle the outskirts of structures, baitfish usually wander in and out of the structures.

For fish living deep in the structure fish with your boat over the structure, anchored. Drop the bait down to the fish. When you get a bite maintain a steady pressure on the fish to get it up so that it cannot swim back down into the structure to safety.,

Another great place to fish in bays is hills and humps. They are popular hiding places for prey and tend to redirect currents. When fishing a hill or hump consider:

Position your boat over the structure so that you can drift while dragging baits across the bottom or gently swimming it over varying depths. These are great spots to troll and use live baits also. You can even anchor here and drop the bait down near the bottom.

Once you catch a fish here, you will notice there are others in the same area here. Its good to mark a spot on your GPS and then drift back and forth over the hill or hump.

Depressions or Holes, along with Channels on the bottom of a bay attract fish. Fish can hide in these areas and they offer relief from conditions predator fish find intolerable, such as extreme temperatures.

Since saltwater is denser than fresh, deepwater holds cleaner water with higher salinity levels. Predators prefer to patrol the edges of a channel or hole like this.

A well known popular area to fish in a bay is the shallows or shoals. They resemble fishing a hole, hill or channel. There is an abundance of bait in these areas.

Look for a variation in the bottom structure to find the fish. Its best to fish these areas at night when game fish move onto the flats so they will not become a victim of birds. Depends on the situation, trolling, anchoring or drifting can be effective techniques over the shoals.

Last but not least, Convergence Zones are great areas in a bay to catch fish. Look for where the freshwater and saltwater merge. This is called a convergence zone. They are great place to fish because the salinity levels will attract saltwater fish for feeding and breeding. The border between the two bodies of water might only appear as a ripple or color change to an angler, but function almost like a concrete wall for fish. Many times they are of different temperatures, currents, colors and salinity. Fish will use them as feeding stations to round up bait fish.

Always explore both sides of the break in a convergence zone before fishing

Trolling is a great way to cover this ground, but drifting baits towards the break works well too.

Regardless of where in the bay you decide to try your luck, the bay is one of the most successful fishing experiences you will ever experience. Its a great place to learn to saltwater fish and affords beginners plenty of room to utilize different techniques and terrains. Get out there and fish one of the man Texas and Louisiana bays today.

CHAPARRAL VORTEX JET BOATS WIN NMMA INNOVATION AWARD

MIAMI INTERNATIONAL BOAT SHOW

Nashville, GA – Chaparral’s new Vortex Aerial Surf Platform (ASP) has been awarded the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) Innovation Award. The award was announced February 12, 2015 at the Miami International Boat Show.

“Our new Vortex jet boats are revolutionizing the jet boat world,” said Chaparral President Jim Lane. “Interest in wake surfing is increasing as a water sport. The ASP and this award verify that you can enjoy the sport of wake surfing with all the benefits of jet drive at a fraction of the cost of traditional surf boats.” According to Mike Fafard, VP of Engineering, “It was exciting to work on the ASP project with my design team. We understood the challenge of pioneering a wake with jet power. The results were best described by the professional riders who were amazed at the exceptional surf wake.” The new Aerial Surf Platform is an addition to the molded swim step, reshaping the wake and making it deeper and more conducive to the rapidly growing sport of wake surfing

“When it comes to overall performance and family fun it’s tough to beat a Vortex,” said Chaparral Founder Buck Pegg. “Our new wake shaping Aerial Surf Platform is truly breakthrough technology that will prove a game changer in watersports.”

The Innovation Awards, organized by the NMMA and judged by Boating Writer’s International (BWI), recognizes products that best meet the following criteria: innovative distinction from other products currently being manufactured; benefit to the marine industry and/or consumer; practicality; cost-effectiveness; and availability to the consumer within 60 days of award receipt.

This marks Chaparral’s second NMMA Innovation Award, following on the heels of recognition for the 327 SSX as the world’s first bowrider full beam cuddy cabin.

Available at No Haggle, Real Deal prices including a trailer, Chaparral’s Vortex jet boats include six offerings from 20- to 24-feet. The just introduced Aerial Surf Platform addition, along with a three tank ballast system, is available as optional equipment on Chaparral’s 223 and 243 VR and VRX Vortex jet boat models.